JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team got a 30-point, 11-rebound effort from redshirt freshman Stephen Hurt but it was not enough as the Bisons fell 85-71 to Atlantic Sun foe Jacksonville on Wednesday night at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

Powered by 9-of-13 shooting from the floor and 12-of-13 at the charity stripe, Hurt became just the second freshman in the NCAA era for Lipscomb to score 30 joining Jeff Dancy, who holds the record for most points in a game with 38.

Midway through the first half, the Dolphins (7-8, 2-0 A-Sun) opted to press the Bisons (5-8, 0-2 A-Sun) and the Purple and Gold had difficulty solving the puzzle for most of the remainder of the game. The pressure turned what was a four-point JU lead at 20-16 at 10:33 into a 13-point lead as the Dolphins rattled off nine straight.

“Our problem is defending,” said Lipscomb head coach Scott Sanderson. “Right now, we can’t stop people. It puts so much pressure on you offensively to have to score so often and we’re not good enough to keep up and score 80 each game.

“We have got to understand how we have to play on the defensive end of the floor. That is our glaring problem right now.”

The Bisons would cut the 13-point deficit down to 10 with 26 ticks remaining in the first half when Hurt nailed one of his seven first-half jumpers but for the second-straight game, a 3-pointer as time wound down sent LU’s opponent into intermission on a high note.

“We need to figure out how to make teams to play at our pace to be more successful,” said Hurt. “Everyone needs to step up in their own way and pull us together.”

The Dolphins would stretch the lead to as many as 22 in the second half. Lipscomb senior guard Deonte Alexander managed to help the Bisons cut into the margin in the final three minutes as the veteran scored eight consecutive points on three possessions to cut the JU lead to 85-69.

Alexander finished with 15 points as the only Bison besides Hurt in double figures. The Dolphins placed five players in double figures led by Keith McDougald’s 19-point effort off the bench.

Hurt led all rebounders with his 11 for his fourth double-double of the season. He was joined in double-figure boards by junior guard Khion Sankey as the Bisons outrebounded Jacksonville 42-34. The Bisons coughed the ball up 16 times leading to 15 points for JU.

Lipscomb returns home for the first time in 21 days on Saturday hosting ETSU at 6:30 p.m. at Allen Arena. To purchase tickets, call 615-966-HERD (4373) or click here.

“It will be good playing at home again,” said Hurt. “Home-court advantage is big and it will be good to be back in Allen Arena.”